PACKERS (4)- SAINTS (5)

 NFC Wildcard

 

Earlier in the week, Joe Horn was fined by the EFL for calling the Packers "a joke. Hell, my little sister's Pop Warner team could have made the playoffs in the [NFC] North. Maybe we'll even let them run a play or two for fun, why should the only little girls on the field be in Green and Gold?" The Vegas bookies seem to agree, laying the Saints as heavily favored to upset the Packers with an embarrassing 13 point spread. The Packers, sliding into the playoffs on a 2 game losing streak, surprisingly tended not to agree, but held silent about the inflammatory remarks. The only response: A 5 by 8 piece of posterboard hanging on the visitor's entrance to Lambeau Field reading- "We'll Meet you on the Field. Then We'll Bury You Under It."

 

For all Green Bay's bravado, they started the game piss-poor. Bad communication compounded by missed tackles not only let Deuce break loose, but practically held the door open for him, as he quickly put the Saints up 7-0 on a 50 yard run. Three and out by a surprsingly efficient Saint's secondary, and then Deuce reached the 100 yard mark on his next run, finally being brought down by McKenzie at the 5.

 

And then the tide turned. A redzone stand at the 5 left the Packers down 10-0, and the offense responded by coming back strong. At first it seemed like it was not to be, that the experienced Saints would quash this mini-run, but a gutsy 4th and 1 on the 38 barely got them the first- Haslet actually had the red flag out before stuffing it back into his pocket- and there was the defining moment. He left a Hall of Fame QB on the field, and will probably regret it for some time. On the very next play, Favre faked the handoff and hit Driver in stride down the sideline for a TD to bring them within 3 with 1:30 left.

 

The fans cheered and then saw the clock and groaned- they knew it was far from over. With 22 seconds left, Horn completely destroyed the corner, wide open down the side, Brooks saw it, left the pocket, pulled back - and Pro Bowler Darren Sharper read him perfectly- there might as well have been an arrow drawn- sped over just as he released, leapt up, and intercepted the deep bomb... killing the momentum and the go-ahead TD. From there, Favre just shined- dropped back into the pocket, saw Ferguson streaking, pump faked the flat pass to Green, put his entire arm into it and threw a rainbow... time ticked down as the ball arced over the majority of the field.... Ferguson was at the 1... leapt up... got his hands on it... a VICIOUS HIT by the safety lay him out cold... but with the ball tucked securely under his arms as he lay dead, the brown leather just breaking the plane of the endzone. 14-10 Packers.

 

From there- Deuce was crammed headfirst back into his box, totalling only 50 more yards on the day. Horn, constantly blanketed could only watch in frustration as the Packers just clamped down, allowing nothing. A costly fumble by Brooks led to a broken play scrambling 75 yd TD by Najeh "I'm not good enough to start for Miami" Davenport that put them up by 10. Yet, it was not over, as Green Bay just could not close it out. Brooks refused to be stopped, showing the fire with which he led his team throughout the season. His sheer desire was almost enough, as with under 2 minutes left in the fourth, down by 3, the Saints D fed off him, dug deep, and left the Pack on the 33 with a fourth and 2.

 

Rightly showing no faith in Longwell (please don't come back and curse me xbox gods), Sherman green flagged the aggressive call. Favre called Green's number in the huddle, grabbed his helmet, and said "go get us this one." Maybe not the most inspiring words, but for a halfback that reads at a fourth grade level, it was enough. Ahman crossed the 31, and then ran the rest of the way, bulldozing his way in for his second TD of the day- and the backbreaker.

 

No one told Brooks, however, that it was over- and just refused to concede. On a stunning drive, he brought them back within 3 with 47 seconds on the clock.

 

The entire stadium was hushed, hardly believing that they would have come so far, only to lose it at the end. Would the EFL Lambeau Field Packer playoff record be broken? The thud of the boot connecting with the ball echoed throughout, the almost inaudible thwop as it hit the frozen tundra and rebounded high in the air... and then the smack as it sailed safely into the arms of the Green and Gold. Lacking practice kicking onsides, the Saints had flubbed it, and as the player touched the ground, a roar went up, washing over the field as the Packers took their hard-earned W amongst a flurry of flying foam cheese hats.

 

The MVP of the game might have been Green with 200 all purpose yards and 2 TDs, but the real difference was the mistake-free play of the Packers as compared to the 2 TO by Brooks. In a final kick in the balls, as the Saints lay crying and downtrodden on the field, the Western big Lambeau megatron screen began to play Horn's interview over and over and over on repeat. The East one? Well, that just showed a good, ol' fashioned shovel.